Can I add a second unit to my property?

Not sure if you need a surveyor? No. A Suite Check is a desktop screening for planning. It does not set or confirm property lines; that needs an Ontario Land Surveyor. The RTK site visit (back in spring 2027) measures features and heights for design, not boundaries.

We check those too. Each township treats them differently, and the label matters. A tiny home someone lives in is usually a second dwelling or a garden suite, and some by-laws treat it as an RV that can't be lived in year-round. A bunkie is usually a sleep cabin, and in some townships you can't have a sleep cabin and a second unit on the same lot. A shed, shop or office is an accessory building with size, height and yard limits; a home office with clients may also fall under home-business rules. The Full Build report tells you which bucket yours falls in and what it takes.

Not quite. Ontario's as-of-right rules (Planning Act s. 35.1 and O. Reg. 462/24) cover lots in a town or village on municipal water and sewer. On those lots the Township must allow up to three units, can't set a minimum unit size, can't ask for more than one parking space per extra unit, and must allow at least 45% lot coverage. Most rural lots on a well and septic aren't covered, so the Township's own by-law decides. Farm lots have their own provincial allowance. Your report tells you which set of rules applies to your lot. Bill 139 (2026) proposes four units on serviced lots, but it isn't law yet.

About 5 business days after you return the one-page confirm map. Send it back the same day and you'll have your report within a week.

They're planning distances, not measurements. Your marks, the aerial photo and the parcel map can each be off by a few metres. So we don't call a clearance pass or fail: we call it looks clear, too close to call, or likely too close. Anything close gets checked on site before you design.

It's a summary of what licensed well drillers recorded near you, so it's a good first guess, not a measurement. Older records are placed by lot and concession and can be a few hundred metres off, and drillers describe soil in their own words. A Suite Check looks at the individual records and your lot's terrain. We confirm your well location with you before any report is finished.

Every source we can legally use for your lot: Ontario lidar (2019–22, depending on area), every provincial DRAPE aerial photo year, your township's zoning by-law and recent council decisions, MECP driller records, subdivision and lot grading plans and permits, provincial wetland and watercourse mapping, Environment Canada weather records, NRCan elevation data and the Ontario Building Code. Plus what you tell us and your own dated photos. Each sheet lists its sources and licences; measurements come only from data we're licensed to measure from or from our own RTK mapping.

Yes, with facts. The Drainage & Change Evidence report shows what the ground and the lot looked like before and after, when the change happened, and how it compares with the approved grading plan. We don't locate property lines (that's an Ontario Land Surveyor), decide who's at fault, or give a legal or engineering opinion, and we don't go onto the neighbour's property. Get the evidence first. Before letters, lawyers or a knock on the neighbour's door, get the facts on paper: what changed, when, and how it compares with the approved grading plan. Then take it to the Township; their staff can check every number. If it goes further, your lawyer and engineer start from evidence instead of a story.

The Township, septic office and conservation authority always have the final say. The report shows the by-law sections and sources we used, and ends with the questions to ask them, so a pre-consultation goes faster.

No. The Suite Check and Full Build Feasibility are done from the desk, using public data and the one-page map you mark up. RTK site visits return in spring 2027 for owners who want measured positions before they design.

Development charges: a second or third unit in a house, or one unit in a garage or coach house, is exempt from development charges on any lot where a house is allowed, rural lots included (Development Charges Act s. 2(3.2)–(3.3)). Building and septic permit fees still apply. Federal tax credit: if the unit is for a related adult who is 65+ or has a disability, the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit is 15% of up to $50,000 in costs. Financing: CMHC-insured refinancing can go up to 90% of the finished value when you add units. Ask your accountant and lender what fits you. The federal $80,000 secondary suite loan was announced but cancelled before it opened.

Maybe. Pick "Somewhere else" on the order form or call 613-219-0288. If we haven't worked through your township's by-law yet, we'll tell you before you pay.

No. Your address and answers are used only to prepare your report. See the privacy page.